The Alabama men’s golf team claimed the program’s first national championship Sunday, defeating Illinois 4-1.

The Crimson Tide defeated the Fighting Illini in the final round of the 2013 NCAA Golf Championship on the par-70 Crabapple Course at the Capital City Course in Atlanta, Ga.

Head coach Jay Seawell said the experience of watching his players celebrate the win was the best aspect of the University’s first men’s national title in a sport other than football.

“Just the smiles and how happy the guys were,” Seawell said. “They’re the ones that put in the work. They do all the things that you need to do to win, and to see their smiles and their satisfaction is something I’ll remember for a lifetime.”

The Crimson Tide came close to winning back-to-back championships, had it not been for a 1-stroke loss to Texas in 2012. It was the devastating loss to the Longhorns in last year’s NCAA finals that maneuvered Alabama through the competition like veteran players.

“I think last year was a great experience for us [on Sunday],” Seawell said. “I think the guys realized what was at stake, and they knew how they felt last year and didn’t want to feel that way anymore. I do think it had some type of motivation in their play because they played really, really great [Sunday].”

Junior Cory Whitsett, who was the last player left to save the Crimson Tide in last year’s final round but fell short, stepped up in the last group to secure the victory for Alabama.

Sunday, Whitsett won the second, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes. After dropping holes at 10 and 11, Whitsett moved back to four up with a par on the 14th. He then clinched the match over Alex Burge on the 15th hole.

Seawell said Whitsett’s performance was the icing on the cake of his team’s championship campaign.

“I think that was a heavy burden on a young guy,” he said. “But this year his point was the one that put us over the top, and that was really a great thing.”

The men’s golf title is the 24th national championship across all sports and the eighth championship since 2009. The Crimson Tide also boasts three titles in football, two in gymnastics, one in women’s golf and one in softball.

Seawell said the program would not be where it is today had it not been for the commitment of the late Mal Moore.

“I think it validates the vision of coach Moore when he hired me, that he wanted Alabama men’s golf to be a viable part of the athletic department,” Seawell said. “I think it also validates the guys and the hard work of all the players that have played here have done.”

The season just ended, but Seawell said he is already looking ahead to try and continue this team’s elite run. He said the focus is now on the recruiting process.

“We’ll move forward here eventually and continue to try to build our program the way we’ve done it, recruiting quality people with quality talent,” Seawell said. “I think if you do that, you always have a great chance of being successful.”

But he said he isn’t quite ready to forget about the feeling of winning his first championship.

“It feels every bit as good as I thought it would, if not even more,” Seawell said.